"Just wanted to let you know our barn sold very quickly. Thank you very much for the use of your website.
What a wonderful tool! Please remove our listing as we are still receiving calls. Thank you again."
- Tom Kee

Finding and Selecting a Barn Salvage or Demolition Contractor or Company
We are often asked "who buys old barns" and while there are hundreds of barn wood salvage people who buy and sell barns and barnwood, many of these are just a person or two with a chainsaw and a truck who will take the best barn beams and barn boards and leave you with a jumbled pile of old wood that's worth little to no money. Reputable barn salvage and barn demolition companies who are in the business of selling reclaimed barn wood and beams should have General liability insurance and references from others who they have taken barns down for. They should also be able to clean up the remaining non salvageable wood if that's the way you structure your deal but be prepared for less money for your barn if they are expected to clean up the mess due to the considerable amount of extra work needed to leave you a clean site. Speaking to the barn demolition or salvage contractors references can also go a long way to making sure you're working with a reputable barn professional.

The Barn Salvage or Deconstruction Process
The first thing a good barn contractor should do before they start taking down your barn is to make sure that all electrical and water lines to the barn have been turned off and disconnected. After those things have been done the barn contractor can start to remove the roofing and barn siding. The barn siding may or may not be worth saving and unless the barn's roof is slate, the old roofing is usually put into the dumpster. On the topic of dumpsters, plan at least one or more large 40 yard dumpsters to haul away the non usable old barnwood that comes off the barn. With the old barn siding off and the roof off, the barn timber frame is ready to be disassembled. If the barn frame is to be reconstructed and relocated to another site, the barn timbers will need to be tagged and documented and a set of drawings made of the barn timber frame configuration. Then all the wood pegs are popped out and each wall section or "bent" is taken apart piece by piece and made ready for transport on a truck or flatbed. If the barn is not going to be relocated and converted into a new building, the barn contractor may either take the barn down beam by beam or simply push the entire barn frame over and then take the good pieces. The barn's condition will usually determine if the the barn is to get another chance at life in the form of a barn home conversion or commercial building.